Apparition
by Tetrastitide
Summary: He had promised ages ago to bring her to see the sky. And despite how well her friends may have known her, Zack still noticed the wariness in her eyes she’d get on sunny days, peering up into the sky with a mix of intimidation and sadness in her eyes. Z/A


"Shouldn't I feel…I don't know… different?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I dunno… just that, being a hero and all, it'd been my dream. But somehow I feel…"

"…empty, perhaps?"

The younger figure snapped his fingers, "That's it! What's up with that, Angeal?"

"I told you before. Have you forgotten?"

"Hmm… recalling all your lectures while we were still breathing air, I suppose the biggest lesson was to 'embrace my dreams,' right?"

Angeal nodded. "What else?"

A drawn-out sigh. "Come on, is there really a point to this guessing game?"

"We're dead, Zack. We have all the time in the world."

"Yeah…" Zack unfurled his wing—his singular, magnificent white wing—and sighed once more.

"…I told you, honor can be a burden."

"Huh." Zack stretched his arms behind his head, looking out over the horizon. "Yeah, I guess I remember you saying that _sometime_."

"Hm." Angeal looked stoically out to the setting sun, taking notice of a lone figure walking along the beaten path towards them. "Zack, come over here."

He obliged, squinting into the blinding orange light bathing the two ethereal figures, before bursting out "HEY! It's her!"

Angeal folded his arms. Zack looked at him with a glimmer in his eye. The figure stopped a few feet away from the two men, letting out a deep sigh before settling in the grass underneath a rustling tree. She was dressed in a worn out pink dress, red jacket, and had a weathered pink ribbon tied into her braided hair.

"I told you she was beautiful…" Zack walked to stand beside the girl, who didn't seem to take notice to either of them. "Aerith…" He reached a hand out to brush her cheek, but his fingers dissipated upon reaching her skin. He sighed.

"You know something, Angeal?" Zack settled on the grass beside Aerith, admiring her features with loving reverence. The elder figure approached and stood behind his former ward, a sympathetic look gracing his stoic features.

"I would give up my wing in a heartbeat to just have one more minute with her…"

"You know that isn't how things work, Zack."

The younger man quietly brushed his lips against the flower girl's temple, his face momentarily shuddering and rippling like water, refusing to make any physical contact with her. He stood up and faced Angeal.

"I know."

* * *

He had promised, ages ago, to bring her to see the sky. And despite how well her friends may have known her, Zack still noticed the wariness in her eyes she'd get on sunny days, peering up into the sky with a mix of intimidation and sadness in her eyes.

She'd overcome the momentary fear in minutes, but still it would return the next day. He only regretted that he couldn't grasp her hand to convince her that it was okay, he wouldn't let the blue suck her up into itself like she worried it would.

To Angeal's humor, Zack followed the mismatched group through mountains and meadows, always favoring Aerith's company, watching her collect wildflowers during downtime and admiring her as she slept beside the campfire.

He watched her walk beside Cloud, and he knew that she saw bits of him in his broken soul, and almost felt a twinge of jealousy in the fleeting thought that Aerith just might have loved Cloud more, but any wandering thoughts were dispelled when he'd watch her nightly ritual. She would carefully untie her hair, folding her ribbon as meticulously as if it were sewn in threaded gold. She'd regard it for a minute, deep in thought, before kissing it softly and placing it safely in her pack before drifting off into sleep.

Zack wished he could know what she thought of every night, but he had a good idea of what it was. He would watch over her as she slept, doing all that he could in his otherworldliness to ward off any nightmares that would threaten her peaceful slumber.

* * *

He was standing before her, elegant wing folded at his side and tears in his eyes. She was solemn and silent, and had been praying feverishly for what seemed to be forever. She was more or less ignorant to his presence there.

But still, Zack stood before his lover, watching over her in quiet reverence, until they had come.

Cloud.

Cloud, who crossed the stepping stones to stand beside him.

Cloud, whose eyes clouded over in an evil haze.

Cloud, who raised his sword to Aerith's head.

Aerith remained silent and focused, unaware or otherwise uncaring to the danger to her life.

_NO!_

Zack reached out a hand to stop the falling sword, _his_ sword, _his _symbol of dreams and honor… his hand materializing into flesh for just a split second, just enough to stop the movement and jerk Cloud back into reality, just as his friends hollered out for him.

Just as quickly as it happened, his hand faded back into nothingness.

And Aerith had seen him. Her eyes opened just before that split-second that he stopped the attack.

She looked directly at him, and smiled. Even after he had faded back into a phantom of a man, she still saw him, and her eyes seemed to dance.

He watched her eyes widen in shock, her mouth fall open, and blood… blood splatter all around them.

He watched Cloud grasp her falling body.

He watched Sephiroth fade away, his dirty deed completed.

He watched Cloud carry his love's body to her watery grave.

But only Zack could see Aerith herself, who stepped out of her body at that same moment that Cloud caught her, eyes still dancing for him and him alone, and he hadn't realized what was happening until she grasped his hand in hers.

"…Zack."

"Aerith…"

"You… you were with me all along, weren't you?"

"…always." He grasped her hand in his, and unfolded his single wing, beating it against the chilled air that neither of them could breathe.

"It hurt…"

"I know."

He led her up. "But it's okay now."

_There's somebody I'd like you to meet, Aerith…_

* * *

**A/N:** Another short! I know Aerith didn't open her eyes until after Cloud snapped out of his trance, but I'm ignoring that tiny little fact. I thought, what if Zack watched Aerith's death? This is one of the scenarios that popped into my head, so I decided to get it down in story form. Hope you enjoyed. It's just a nonsense little blurt, but it's interesting to think that Zack is watching over Aerith throughout her adventure.

Disclaimer: (I should get in the habit of including this, opps) I don't own FF7 or any of the characters therein. I wish I did, but alas, I don't. I just manipulate them into my odd plotlines.


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